I’m really such a weirdo, because, I’m full of contradictions. I guess I’m supposed to be that way because I’m a Gemini. I don’t know. Take this one, for instance. I love water. I love it – I love swimming, I love bathing – I just love water. When I was a toddler, the neighbor would call up my mother and ask her what time I was taking my bath so that she could come and watch! Seriously! I just have always loved the water that much! However, here’s the contradiction – big open water scares me to death. And, of course, that has changed as I’ve grown. Like when I was a little kid, big open water meant the deep end of a big pool. Now the deep end is no big deal. The wide, open waters of the ocean, though – that’s another story entirely. I’m terrified, completely terrified, of the ocean. And seeing how my motion sickness is so bad, I’ll probably never have to face that fear. Seriously, what if you head out to that big, wide ocean and your vessel sinks?! Agghhh! It would be good, though, to have some wise, authority figure to assure the public about vessel sinking, wouldn’t it?

GO READ A BOOK!

Do you know who the King Bookworm is? That’s Mrs. Lisa’s daddy! He is a book-eating machine! My mom loves books, too, but, my dad is a book monster! And he is totally the bomb, because, he is giving me his old laptop computer! I am so excited, because, I have been wanting one for a really long time! We were talking about hooking the new laptop up to the internet and he was telling me about some kind of router I would need – I wonder if he meant a Linksys router? I don’t really know, but, he is coming here to see us and I’m sure he will get me all hooked up! And you know what’s so funny? Yesterday I got a Dell catalog in the mail and saw those colored laptops for the first time. (The kids already knew all about them from TV commercials!) And I almost got disappointed that I was getting my dad’s hand-me-down instead of a pretty pink laptop! But that’s totally only almost, because, I couldn’t afford to buy one of those new Dell’s right now, anyway! It was just funny to me that I actually felt a little bit of disappointment over it. I mean, really – who would’ve thought they would ever have pink computers?!

GO READ A BOOK!

It is actually almost time for school to start back up. The summer is so much shorter than it used to be. Thank goodness the kids get a fall break, at least! But we will need to go shopping for school clothes and we better do it pretty soon! My daughter was listing to me last night all of the things that she needs and my head was starting to spin! Her backpack is broken, so she needs a new backpack, and she needs her school supplies, and she needs new clothes, and she needs new shoes. And then, of course, we get to multiply that by three. I always wanted a bunch of kids, and I guess this is one time of year that I can be grateful I didn’t get my wish! And with the boys being in high school, they are starting to notice that clothes and shoes from the discount stores aren’t really all that cool. I can see that some compromises will have to be made, because, while we may not buy them Air Jordan shoes, we might see what the local sports store has that is a little better from the giant discount stores. They can save up some of their own money from chores and birthdays and stuff to get some of the more expensive shoes, if they really want them. Personally, I would rather buy some mid-price shoes, and use the money I saved to buy books! I just can’t see spending oodles of money on shoes like that. And I usually buy used books, at that!

When we were in Dallas, we were of course spending a lot of my time with my sweet nephew, whom I call Scooter. Well, it seems that in the year we’ve been gone, Scooter has become obsessed with super heroes. That is his new thing – you know how kids get hooked on one thing or another. I can pretty much trace my boys’ lives in connection with their obsessions. It could just be boys, I don’t know. My daughter’s life has not lined up quite so evenly with obsessions like that. Getting back to Scooter, I noticed that now along with his big kid bed, he has big kids bedding. And you know what that bedding’s them is? It’s Spiderman. He may be obsessed with super heroes, but, he is mondo-obsessed with Spiderman! And the funny thing, to me, is that my oldest son still has his Spiderman bedding on his bed. Scooter is four, and my son is almost fourteen. There is something so sweet in that connection to me! But I’m just all gushy like that! Now don’t any of you tell on me that I ratted out my son’s Spiderman bedding, ok?

GO READ A BOOK!

We were thinking, even though we just had a very long vacation in Dallas, that we might go on one more vacation before the school year started. And really, although the kids and I relaxed quite a bit in Dallas, Daddy Bookworm was working every day while we were there. So it would seem totally reasonable that he would want to go somewhere. It would be so awesome if we could go to Florida and maybe get a Orlando vacation rental, but, I think that would probably be out of our price range. It would definitely be fun, and we are so much closer now. But we’ll probably just keep talking about going down to Gulf Shores. I know we could do that for a lot less money. One of these days, though, we are going to have to make that Florida trip! Daddy Bookworm spent most of his childhood in Florida, and I’m sure he would love to visit, and the kids would just about die to go to Disney World!

GO READ A BOOK!

My husband and I are very strict scholastically with our children. I come from a brainiac family and just really want them to do their best and not slack off, and my husband wants them to have a better position in life than he feels he does. We want them all to go to college, but, we know how unbelievably expensive that can be. So that is where studying hard can really pay off in another way. If they study hard enough, they can apply for scholarships. That would be so awesome if they all got scholarships because that would make life easier on not only us, but, also – them! I think my brother is still paying off his loans – and we’re almost forty! (Not that we’re twins, he is two years older than me, but, we are both almost forty!) It would be so awesome to get that awesome college education and not have to struggle for years paying back loans, have to try to deal with student loan consolidation and every other method possible to just get ahead and keep paying on your loans! Another awesome way to get scholarships is through band. Our elementary band teacher is so encouraging of the children working hard and letting the music take them through college! And so she should be, she never paid for college at all! She was on full scholarships thanks to band! I love hearing her talk about it, she makes me feel hopeful and like there really is a way to make it happen!

GO READ A BOOK!

Life insurance is like one of those necessary evils that we all have to deal with. There are so many different options and so many different terms, that is can really get confusing. I found a book that might help me understand some of those details better. It’s called The Life Insurance Handbook, by Louis S. Shuntich. I mean, I think I pretty know how life insurance, and our policy, in particular, works, but, there is so much complicated jargon that goes along with it that I sometimes think people are just talking in circles when they are trying to explain it to me. And I’ll just get to the point where I think I understand our term life insurance, and my mom goes and tells me where her policy is, in case something should happen to her! She was flying to Spain, and I think everyone gets a bit nervous when a loved one is traveling so far! So that meant I had to mentally deal with two policies! After trying to absorb all that, I just need to put my feet up with a good book!

GO READ A BOOK!

I am the queen of locking myself out – of my car and the house! It’s such a rotten feeling, but, locksmiths have always been available to help me out – thank goodness! And I never really thought about it before, but, locksmiths can restore your peace of mind in a number of ways. They are security professionals and they can install and maintain all kinds of things to make us safer and make our homes and offices run smoother. They obviously can do anything with any locks or safes you may have, but, they also can install burglar and fire alarms, surveillance systems, intercom systems, and even phone systems. If you are in the Pittsburgh area, Locksmith Pittsburgh has the best prices and products in the industry, using state-of-the-art technology for your security. With a polite and friendly staff, they are fully licensed, bonded, and insured. They have a contact form right on the site where you can fill in your contact information and list what kind of help you are needing to get a free estimate. But you will also find the 1-800 number all over the site, should you need emergency help. They are continually upgrading their knowledge, expertise and equipment; and are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to assist you with your needs. Their goal is to know that their customers are 100% satisfied, declaring that they are not happy unless their customers are happy! When someone helps me out of my Lucy Ricardo-style jams, I’m definitely happy!

GO READ A BOOK!

My boys are so funny – they come home from school armed with some new knowledge, and present it to the family, and invariably – the other one argues with him. They argue about whether the other has a certain concept right, or whether the other one has the right year for the end of a war, or just about anything! The other day they were arguing about peptides. So I went looking for books about them. I found some really cool science books for kids on my search, too. The one that I really liked was “Homework Helpers: Biology” by Matthew Distefano. It is actually one of a series of books on many topics for children. I think we will definitely have to invest in some of those, especially as my boys are getting up there in the upper grades, at a level where this Mama Bookworm is not that skilled at helping them!

GO READ A BOOK!

I was watching TV with my daughter last night, and there was a commercial on for Pigeon Forge. Everything they showed looked either very interesting or very beautiful. I was thinking to myself, ‘where is that?’ …and then when they said, Tennessee, I was so excited! That is probably not far from us at all. I bet we could totally plan a trip there! (Yes, I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t know where it was, but, since you’re one of those nice readers, I’m sure you won’t make fun of me! Right? Right?) With our being such a rustic, outdoorsy type of family, it would be really neat to get a Pigeon Forge cabin rental. I am sure that we would all have a total blast!

GO READ A BOOK!